Form and holding means therefor



Feb. 16, 1954 w. A. SEEMANN FORM AND HOLDING MEANS THEREFOR 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 8, 1952 8 WILLIAM A. SEE/MANN INVENTORHUEBNER, BEEHLER,

WORREL 8 HERZ/G ATTORNEYS WWM Feb. 16, 1954 w. A. SEEMANN ,669,000

FORM AND HOLDING MEANS THEREFOR Filed March 8, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 w xm WILL/AM .4. sEEm/v/v INI/ENTOA HUEBNER, BEEHLER,

WORREL 4: 1159216 ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 16, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE FORM AND HOLDING MEANS THEREFOR William A. Seemann, Piedra,Calif.

Application March 8, 1952, Serial No. 275,587

7 Claims. (Cl. 25-131) The present invention relates to concrete formsand the like and more particularly to the combination of such a formwith improved holding means therefor.

In the construction of dams and other massive structures formed ofconcrete, it is the usual practice to pour the concrete in successivebatches which when hardened are so integrated as to form the resultantstructure. It is the usual practice to permit preceding batches to setpreliminary to the pouring of a successive batch so that the precedingbatches are utilized to hold forms and such batches themselvesfrequently constitute portions of the form. It is the usual practice toembed anchor pins, referred to as hair pins, in predetermined positionsas each new batch of concrete-is poured so that the pins can be used inanchoring the forms in new positions for successive batches. In mountingthe forms on the previously located anchor pins, the forms temporarilyare held in desired position by means of cranes or the like and drawntightly against the previously set batches of concrete by means of shebolts extended through the forms and screw-threadably tightened onto theanchor pins.

The conventional practice just described, is subject to certaindisadvantages which the instant invention has overcome. The she boltsare exposed in positions where they are frequently struck by buckets ofconcrete lowered adjacent thereto for adjacent pours. Inasmuch as thebuckets of concrete are of great weight, the she bolts are snapped ofiwhenever engaged thereby. Inasmuch as the she bolts are relied upon tohold forms in place, the breaking thereof is of serious consequence,normallyrele'asing forms held thereby permitting displacement fromprecisely predetermined position. If the form has already received freshconcrete which has not yet hardened, such a release of a portion of aform results in a waste of concrete and jeopardy to workmen andmaterials working or positioned in proximity thereto.

' The removal of a broken she bolt is a difl'icult and frequentlyhazardous task. Its replacement is a time-consuming operation. The costof the she bolts thus broken in dam construction is frequently large.For example, in a large dam currently under construction, $100,000 worthof she bolts were broken in the pouring of the first million cubic yardsof concrete.

An object of the present invention is there.- fore toprovide an improvedholding means. for

:concrete forms and the like.

2 Another object is to eliminate the expense, inconvenience, hazard, andwaste incident to the breaking of she bolts in concrete construction, asdescribed above.

Another object is to provide a combination of concrete form and holdingmeans therefor in which the holding means is housed by the form and thusshielded from damage.

Another object is to provide a holding means for concrete forms of thecharacter described in the preceding paragraph which are adjustable soas to facilitate precise form positioning.

Further objects and advantages will become apparent in the subsequentdescription in the specifications.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective of a dam under construction showing formspositioned for subsequent batches of concrete, illustrative of theoperational environment of the subject invention.

- Fig. 2 is an enlarged foreshortened vertical section taken on line 2-2of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation of a combined form and holdingmeans embodying the principles of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation of a portion of the formshown in Fig. 3.

Fig. '7 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section taken on line 1-1 ofFig. 3.

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of a holding means embodying the principlesof the present invention, a portion thereof being shown in verticalsection and foreshortened for illustrative convenience.

Fig. 9 is a top plan view of an anchor pin utilized in mounting concreteforms.

Referring in greater detail to the drawings:

In Fig. 1, a partially constructed dam of concrete is indicatedgenerally at H) for illustrative -purposes only. The dam is shown asformed of an upstream layer II and a downstream layer 4'2. As shown, theupstream layer has progressed higher than the downstream layer and thusthe upstream layer is utilized as a portion of a form for pouring eachsuccessive batch of concrete in the downstream layer. Further, it willbe noted that successive islands of concrete l3 are upwardly extendedfrom each layer in spaced relation so that islands also constituteportions of a form for successive pours.

, =Mcyable iorm' sections l5 are conventionally and bolted into positionby means of the? she 2 bolts by operators supported on retractablecatwalks 1% pivotally mounted between the stud.- dings 16 for retractioninwardly between the studdings. The catwalks are supported in. outwardlyextended position by means of cables l9, shown in Fig. 2. point isessentially conventional. and attention is now directed to theimprovements of the present invention.

In a manner which will subsequently become apparent, anchor pins. 2?.are embedded; in; the concretein sets of vertically spaeedpinsarrangedin predetermined positions. As shown in. Figs. 8' and 9, each anchor pinpreferably has: a. corrugated portion 23 and a male threaded:- portion21; The corrugated portion is preferably con.- fined to a common planeto which the male threaded portion: is an'gularly relayed.

As evident in Figs. 7 and? 8, an elongated: bolt 26 having a tapered endportion 2.? is provided in which an internally threaded bore 28is'iiormed which is releasably engageable with the male threaded portion24 of the. anchor pins 22'. Each of the bolts has. an opposite endproviding a wrench head 29 and an elongated externally screw-threadedportion 30 adjacent'tathewrench head.

A thimble 32 is provided having a. hollow substantially cylindricalcentral sleeve: portion. 313.

The sleeve portion has an inwardly turned end providing anannularshoulder 34 defining a bore 35 concentrically of the sleeve. Fordescriptive convenience the end of the sleeve portion; provi'ding' theannular shoulder is referred to as. the

substantially closed end and: the opposite end of the sleeve as the openend The sleeve: portion 33 is loosely mounted on the bolt 2% with. thebolt slidabl'y positioned in the bore 352 with the wrench head 29thereof within the sleeve and the tapered end 2 7 extended endwardly ofthe sleeve. A nut 3-1 is screwthreadably mounted on the threaded portion30' of the bolt within the sleeve engae'eable with the annular shoulder'34*.

The thimble 32 also provides a mountingp-late 4'0 lweldably securedthereto, or cast. integrally therewith, and radially extendedincircumscribing relation to the open end 36' of the sleeve portion.

A plurality'of bores 41 are formed through each of the form sections #5in long'i tudinally spaced relation in each of the studdings: l6. Eachof the bores is substantially larger than the bolts 26' and arepreferably elongated longitudinally of the studdings inasmuchas a widerrange of vertical adjustment is required in positioning the formsections than the range of horizontal adjustment. A. counterbore it isformed in a1ignment with each of the boresand similarly ispreferabl'yverticallyel'ongated' for adjustment purposes. Thecounterbores 43' are: oppositely disposed in the studdingsfrom theplanks t1 and recessed areas 44 provided there-about.

Operation The operationand utility of the present'im The structuredescribed tothis vention are believed to be clearly apparent and arebriefly summarized at this point. For descriptive convenience, it isassumed that a pre vious mass of concrete has been hardened with theanchor pins 22 arranged therein in predetermined positions. It will beobserved that the pins are embedded in the concrete with the threadedportions 24 thereof housed in pockets 46 formed in substantially erectsurfaces 47 of the concrete mass". The threaded portions 24 aresubstantially horizontally disposed.

Preliminary to forming an island on the upstream layer H, as illustratedin Figs. 1 and 2, any-required. number of form sections iii arepositioned against the surfaces ll and upwardly extended therefrom incantilever arrangement. The. bores 42. and counterbores #33 are alignedwith the pockets 5% and the bolts 26 extended thrcu'gh' the bores andcounterbores and screwthreadably mounted on the anchor pins 22. This isvconveniently accomplished by an. operator supported onthe catwalks itwhile the form'is supported. in position by a crane. or the. like. Anysuitable socket wrench adapted to. lit the wrench head 29; may beemployedv to tighten, the bolt onto the pin and tightly to seat thetapered end- 21 of. the bolt in; its pocket 46..

The operator then slides the thimbles 32. into the counterbores 31 with,the annular shoulders "i, the sleeve portions 33 areloosely fitted tothe bores Nuts 3? are screw-threadably mounted on the bolts and. drawninwardly against the; annular shoulders. 34. also by means of anysuitable. socket wrench. not. shown. The rose 5.4. substantially largerthan the moon 1g plates. at, so that preliminary-to tightening thenutsinto' place, theiorm sections may be precisely positioned.Subsequent. to tightening of. thennts the form. sections. are,dependably held position against the: surfaces 41".

It willbe: noted in Fig- 2 that the: lower ends of studsv it are notchedat' 9 and inner adjustment nuts 51') screw-threadably mounted. onthebolts 2'6 in engagement, with the studs. The extent of the notching isexaggerated in the drawing; more clearlyto show thestruciture. When the.notched portions; 6.9; are as deep as shown in Fig. it is necessary toemploy thimbles of somewhat reduced length, for obvious reasons. Byadjusting the nuts 3.1 and the ad ustment nuts 53 inwardly outwardly ontheir bolts 2-6;, the precise attitude, within. relatively narrowlimits, of the up. wardly extended studs, l6 and the planks; I! can be pe isely de m ned- The lowermost planks. ll are enga ed against thesurfaces, 4?: and define, an upwardly extended wall therefrom- Adjacentto the upper ends of the studs: thedescribed bores 42, counterbores 43',andreeessed' areas are provided as described. Inorder to locatev anchorpins 222 in fresh concrete to be poured into the form, the thimbles 32and bolts 26 are mounted therein as shown, and anchor pins 22sGrew-threadably mounted in the bores 28' of the bolts in the precise;positions desired in the newly formed island or pour. To retain thebolts and thimbles in assembled relation in the bores and ccunterboresat the upper ends of the studs, screws iii: are; extended through themounting plates ti? and engaged in the studs. The screws are employedonly to hold the uppermost thimbl'es, bolts, and pins. in position whilea newpour is made. finrther; if desired, a. piece of sheet metal 55 maybe Emotionally mounted on each of the bolts v26, holding the pins 22 tobe embedded in the new concrete, in engagement with the back sides ofthe form sections. The sheet metal facilitates the holding of the boltsand pins in desired positions in the forms and yet permits the removalof bolts from the bores '42 and counterbores 43 after the new concretehas hardened. The desired frictional engagement is readily achieved bysimply driving the bolts through light sheets of such materialpreliminary to installation on their respective pins. The tapered ends21 of the bolts 26 are preferably greased to preclude adherence ofconcrete thereto.

Ends of form sections I5 are interconnected by transverse form sections53 of any suitable form bolted or otherwise secured to opposite ends ofthe sections I5, as shown in Fig. 1, when an upwardly extended island I3is to be formed. When making a fill between upwardly extended islands inan elevated layer, only a pair of form sections I5 is required inasmuchas islands at the opposite ends of the fill take the place of transverseform sections 53. In forming a fill between spaced islands in a lowerlayer, only a single form section is required, as indicated.

When it is desired to employ a plurality of form sections I5 inendwardly abutting relation, the studs I6 at the end of the section areconveniently of only half the normal width and fitted against studs atthe end of an adjacent section and thebores 42, counterbores 4'3, andrecessed areas 44 formed therebetween, as evident in Fig. 3. In suchinstances, the mounting plates 40 span the juncture of sections [5 anddependably hold the endwardly adjacent sections in place.

When the form sections are installed, concrete is poured therebetweenand settled about the anchor pins 22 and tapered ends 21 of the bolts26. When the concrete has set, the screws 52 are removed from themounting plates 40 of the uppermost thimbles 42, the nuts 31 releasedfrom the bolts in these thimbles and the bolts unscrewed'from theirrespective anchor pins 22,

leaving the anchor pins embedded in the newly I set concrete with thepockets 46 thereabout formed by the tapered ends 2'! of the bolts.Similarly, the other nuts 31 are removed, releasing the thimbles 32, andpermitting the unscrewing of the bolts from the previously set anchorpins The present invention has proved dependable in holding concreteforms precisely in position. The loose fitting of the thimbles 32 andbolts 26 to the counterbores 43 and bores 42 accommodate adjustment ofthe form sections I 5 into precisely desired position preliminary totightening the nuts 31 to draw the mounting plates 40 tightly againstthe recessed areas 44. Inasmuch as the nuts 31, bolts 26, and thimbles32 are completely housed during use, there is no danger of theirbreakage or displacement incident to inadvertent engagement by heavybuckets of concrete or the like and thus, the expense of she-boltreplacement as well as the hazards, inconveniences, and readjustmentexpenses have been obviated.

Although the invention has been herein shown and described in what isconceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it isrecognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of theinvention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed hereinbut is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace anyand all equivalent devices and apparatus.

6 Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is: 1. In combination with a concrete form orthe like having a bore, a counterbore aligned with the bore, and arecessed area circumjacent to the counterbore; a, hollow substantiallycylindrical sleeve loosely mounted in the counterbore having anoutwardly disposed open end and an inwardly disposed end provided withan inwardly directed annular shoulder defining a bore concentric to thesleeve; a mounting plate radially extended from the outer end of thesleeve slidably engaged with the recessed area of the form; an elongatedbolt extended through the bore of the sleeve having an end disposedwithin the sleeve and an opposite end loosely extended through the boreof the form; means engaged with the extended end of the bolt rigidlymounting the bolt in predetermined position; and means adjustablypositioned longitudinally of the bolt in engagement with the shoulder ofthe sleeve to draw the sleeve, plate and form toward the rigid mountingmeans for the bolt.

2. In combination with a concrete form having a bore, a counterborealigned with the bore, and a recessed surface area circumjacent to thecounterbore; a hollow substantially cylindrical sleeve loosely mountedin the counterbore having an inwardly disposed end provided with aninwardly directed annular shoulder defining a bore concentric to thesleeve and said sleeve having an outwardly disposed open end; a mountingplate rigidly mounted on the outer end of the sleeve and radiallyextended therefrom in sliding engagement with the recessed surface areaof the form; an elongated bolt slidably mounted in thebore of the sleevehaving an end disposed within the sleeve and opposite tapered endloosely extended through the bore of the form 'provided with aninternally screw-threaded longitudinal bore; and a nut screw-threadedlymounted on the bolt within the sleeve in engagement with the annularshoulder thereof.

3. In concrete construction, the combination of a plurality of rigidlymounted pins having substantially horizontally disposed malescrewthreaded ends; a elongated bolts screw-threadedly mounted on thescrew-threaded ends of the pins in housing relation thereto andendwardly extended therefrom; a concrete form having bores formedtherein loosely fitted over the bolts, counterbores concentric to thebores oppositely disposed from the pins, and recessed surface areascircumjacent to the counterbores, the bolts being endwardly extendedfrom the pins a distance less than the combined lengths of the bores andthe counterbores; thimbles loosely fitted into the counterbores of theforms having hollow central portions received in the counterbores incircumscribing relation to the bolts, substantially closed ends slidablymounted on the bolts, opposite open ends, and mounting plates radiallyextended from the open ends in engagement with the recessed areas of theforms; and nuts screwthreadedly mounted on the bolts within the thimblesin abutting relation to the substantially closed ends thereof.

4. In a concrete form, the combination of an anchor pin having acorrugated portion and a male screw-threaded portion adapted forembedding in a mass of concrete, the corrugated portion lying in a planeangularly related to the screw-threaded portion; an elongated bolt hav--ing an externally endwardly tapered end portion having a longitudinalbore provided, with female screw-threads releasably mounted on thescrewthreaded-end portionof the pinpannppositea Providing "a wrench.head, and an externally jscrew-threaded portion adjacent ,}to "the endof the "bolt providing .the wrenchhead; .a oth-inible ,having hollowcylindrical porition :in toil-cumzsoribingrelation to the externallyscrew-threaded tportion ,of the belt, a "siibs'tantiallyemsed rendis'lidably, mounted ,onhthe bolt, an open opposite lendtendwardl-yextended :f-rom the wrenh "head Tof [the bolt, and a mounting plate,iradiallywextendedrtrom the open end .of nthe cylindrical porztion; anut screw-threadedly mounted onithe externally screw-threaded portionof-thefbolt within -the thimble in engagement with. thesubstanwally-closed end of the thimble; and .a concrete ifomntproviding:a bore loosely receivingthe bolt rand; a -:oounter,b ore looselyreceiving-the thimble vtherein 1 with o the mounting -.plat,e of thethimble slidablyengagedagainst the form. I

, 5.f In combination with azconcrete formhaving a m-openingtherethrough, a hollow vsleeve Sloosels amounted =intheopeninguhaving anoutt ardly'disposed open end and an inwardly disposed end within ;thevform provided with an inwardly di- ,rected annular shoulder defining anopening .therethroug11,-a mounting. plate radially extended ,vfromtheonter-end of the sleeve slidahly engaged against the form, anelongated bolt extended 'ithrough the opening definedtby the shoulder ofthe sleeve having an end disposed within the sleeve :and an opposite endextended loosely -;t-'hrough theopeningdnthe form, means engaged -with'the extendedendof the bolt rigidly mounting theiboltiin predeterminedposition, andmeans adjustably positioned ;longitudinally of the bolt:within the sleeve in engagementi with the shoulder adfithe sleeve todraw the sleeve, plate "and form -towardthe mounting means 'forthe-*bolt.

5.6. Releasable retainingmeans for concrete tforms and' thelike adaptedfor connection toan i'anchoripin comprising a flat mountingd'plate-hav-:iingan: opening centrally therein, a hollow sleeve rigidly connected tothemounting plate in'registr-y twithfthezopening and extendedsubstantially right angularly from the plate to one side thereon. the

'"Number .extended ..,end of ,the sleeve ,=havin g an L inwa y.posedface into which the bolt and nut are recessed and shielded "by thesleeve from,.inad- .vertent contact.

'7. In combination .with a concrete form having an'opening therethroughand a recessed-area circumjacent to the opening, a hollow vsleeveloosely mounted in the opening having anoutv-Wardly disposed openend andan inwardly dis- ,posed end Within the-$013111 provided with an inwardlydirected'annular shoulder dBfiDiI'lgIQCOIL- striated openingtherethrough, .a mountingtplate radially extended from theouter end ofthe sleeve sIidabIvengagedagainst the form in the recessedareacircumjacentto the-opening, an elongated shoulderextended throughthe opening defined by the shoulder of 1 the sleeve having :an :end{disposed within the sleeve and antopposite "end extended looselythroughvthetopening in thefform, ,means engaged within v"the extended-lend of:the bolt rigidly .mounting the bolt in -1oredetermined position, and-anut screW-threadabl-y;mounted on the. bolt within thesleeve inengagementgwith the a shoulder of thesleeve to draw the sleeve, plate,

and form toward the mounting means :for Ith'e .bolt.

WILLIAMAPsEEi/IAmt. References Cited 'in the me of this patent UNITEDSTATES PATENTS Name Date I Colt Mia-n23, I937 Schenk 'Novfi30, 1937

